Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Buhari’s Budget A Big Fraud - PDP

…Says President Planning To Mortgage Nigeria’s Future

Press Statement

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) describes the N6.8 trillion
2016 federal budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday as a big
fraud and executive conspiracy tailored towards mortgaging the future of the
nation.

The party queried President Buhari’s decision to borrow N2
trillion, the biggest in the history of the nation as the height of
recklessness and deceit from a government that trends on propaganda.

The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary,
Chief Olisa Metuh on Tuesday berated the Federal Government for trying to use
their bogus welfare programme and phantom capital projects as cover and conduit
to syphon the funds to satisfy partisan interests, particularly to settle huge
campaign debts.

“It is obvious that this budget is an extension of the campaign
promises of the APC government, presented as a manifesto filled with bogus
promises which implementation will be inconclusive, thereby allowing the APC to
once again deny their promises.

“There has never been any known economy in the world where
government deliberately mortgage the future of its nation by borrowing
excessively to finance partisan interests while hiding under bogus welfare
programmes. This is moreso important as the APC in reeling out their bogus
campaign promises never informed Nigerians that they would mortgage their
future through excessive borrowing.

“We have it on good authority that this is the first in the
series of APC borrowings which would leave the future generation of Nigerians
under the burden of huge debts after four years”

The PDP said the budget clearly shows that after seven months in
power, President Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), are
yet to differentiate between governance and campaign propaganda.

“By all standards, the 2016 budget, the first major economic
policy outing of this government, is completely unrealistic and duplicitously
embellished with impractical predications, a development that confirms fears by
economy watchers and investors that this administration is obviously
ill-equipped for governance.

“We are indeed shocked that President Buhari and his minister of
information have come up with two different reasons for the current fuel crisis
in the country. While we appreciate the President’s apology, we think it is
high time he called this minister to order as his excessive propaganda and
blame game are ridiculing this administration and the image of the nation.

“Furthermore, it is instructive to note the official endorsement
of Mr. President to the devaluation of the naira as against his campaign
promise of firming up the value of our currency even to the much vaunted one
naira to one dollar.

‘Does it mean that Mr. President lied his way to power, or that
he did not understand the complexities of governance when he was making his
false promises to Nigerians?

“In future, there is need to regulate campaign promises so that
we will not end up with a government that promises to climb Mount Everest with
bare hands and end up mortgaging our future with orchestrated borrowings.

“Finally, we want to request Mr. President to once again to
involve experienced and well-tested hands in the management of the economy and budgeting
processes. This economy is not for Mr. President, neither is it for the APC.
The progress of the economy is for all Nigerians and as such, due care should
taken to save ourselves from unrealistic and deceptive proprammes.